Immortality
by daydreamer-in-the-dark
Summary: A tale of a young, rebellious demon-hunter and her entanglement in something way above her head )
1. Chapter 1: Better Part Of Valor

The dark-skinned humanoid half-knelt at the base of a tree. The effects of shadow-meld rendered her invisible to the naked eye, but this was no ordinary being she was hunting. Her deep purple face was "looking" at the ground, but that wasn't really what she was concentrated on. As a demon hunter, she was blind in the sense that she had no eyes. Instead, she had a demon-sight, which permitted 360 degrees view in black and white. While she was facing the ground, she was concentrating on the cave entrance directly in front of her.

The transcending canopy of the forest far above the night elf gave away to a light rain, which hastily became torrential.

The night elf raised her head to the sky. She embraced the rain on her dark skin with an unearthly passion, letting the droplets cascade down her cheek before dripping onto the forest floor. She tilted her head forward 90 degrees to face the cave entrance.

"By my life, Elune, you're really testing me this time," she silently whispered to herself. She had realised that it was unsafe to stay out in the rain in shadow meld, as her shape could now be discerned as a result. She slowly stood, her form materialising. Now fully erected, she unsheathed her beloved elven war-blade from her side and sprinted across the forest clearing and into the cave entrance with all her physical prowess.

Her back to the wall, she descended the cave with extreme caution. Her elven senses were acute to the extreme, but her unearthly foe came in so many different forms that she had to assume they were even more so. The tip of her war-blade was enflamed now, the greenish flames licking the air around it, demanding demonic flesh and hissing almost impatiently.

The pitch black of the cave gave away to a sliver of light, but she could not tell thanks to her black-shade vision. Her vision did, however, employ colour where demons were concerned. If a demon was in the close vicinity, she felt a warm sensation throughout her body and saw the outline of that demon in reds and yellow, this vision penetrating rock and air alike.

The wary night elf female continued down the rocky corridor. Torches housed in tight niches along the walls lit the way for the inhabitant of this primitive dwelling. As she traversed this underground labyrinth, the night elf felt an unfamiliar sense of fear in her. She ignored this and pushed it to the back of her mind; there was no time for such insignificant feelings. She delved deeper into the unknown cavern, mortal vengeance willing her on. Finally, a little further along, the weathered corridor opened up into what she presumed was a room. A hypnotic chanting was emanating from the room and reverberating down the passage. As she advanced, the chanting grew louder and she could now sense the demon

The night elf was full of a strange fear; the kind of fear that bites at the back of your throat and strokes the back of your neck with his bony fingers. Something sinisterly evil was afoot. Through the wall her demonic sight could now pick up three beings, from whence, she guessed, the chanting was coming from. Blade still hand, she peered around the door. She stared in disbelief as three winged demons performed some kind of ritual.

The three defilers were gathered around a table, upon which was the limp body of a young Night Elf male, probably about mid way through the Night Elf equivalent of adolescence. Around their feet were ancient books, bones, some armour and some weapons, the sight of which sent a frigid chill down the Elf's spine. The tallest demon was reading incantations and spells from the book, while the other two chanted the same monotonous chant. One of the demons raised a dagger over the body of the elf. The other demon then placed his hand on the dagger, and both demons looked at one reading, as if awaiting his command.

The night elf watched in disgust. This was the fist time in her life that she had been truly thankful that she couldn't see in colour, for observing these abominations in any more detail would surely send such an elf crazy.

The night elf's concentration was now fixed upon the young boy on the table. She presumed him dead and watched his face. At first she didn't notice it, but then she realised that a tear was trickling down his cheek. Then, as if the boy knew that he was being watched, his eyes opened slowly. She saw pain and desperation in his eyes, and she could wait no longer. She sprung from the entrance of the corridor and charged at the demons.

"Abominations! My blade shalt send you back from whence you came!" the elf screamed at the demons.

The three demons were surprised by the interruption. The two holding the dagger dropped it and unsheathed their own demonic weapons. One, however, was too slow.

The night elf charged at the demon with a blood curdling war-cry. The elf didn't stop running to engage the demon. The demon swung his mighty axe, at least as tall as the elf, as she advanced. The elf evaded the axe with ease, bringing her own weapon up with two hands into the side of the demon. The sword hissed as its burning blade sliced easily through the demon's flesh, and the demon let out a cross between a scream of excruciating agony and a roar of annoyance.

The elf continued running until she reached the wall of the room. As she turned, she saw her assailant let out a final breath, and then go limp. She had no time to muse on this, however, as the other demon that was holding the dagger came running at her.

Unlike the other, this demon held in his hands two long-bladed swords, a little like the Elf's. The beast was around 8 foot tall, with is chest boasting around a meter in diameter. His wingspan must have been at least 12 foot, but at the moment they were tight to his back. His head was at least four times the size of hers, with two bull-like horns protruding from each side of his head, each looked to the elf as sharp as razor blades. He wore no armour, for his skin was as thick and hard as the strongest metal. His skin was red with a little hair in places, but mostly covered in leathery skin. On his fingers and toes he flaunted his razor-like 7 inch claws, which could easily make short work of his attacker.

The elf, standing at around 6"11, on the other hand, was nothing like the demon. Her skin was a dark shade of purple, unblemished and pure. She wore only a blind-fold over where her eyes used to be, and rags protecting her hands and feet. On her torso she wore an armless black leather top protecting her chest and breasts. Her legs were clad in the same dark material. Her hair was a dark, regal blue not unlike her skin, which she wore in a pony-tail. If she wore it down it would have at least reached the small of her back. With her slim-lined war-blades, she relied on guile, speed and agility to defeat her opponents, as apposed to brute force.

The demon continued in her direction with no sign of stopping. Instinctively the elf ran at him, too. Just before they were about to collide, the elf stooped, then sprang into the air in a precise front-flip, easily clearing his head. As she did, however, the demon raised his head and his left horn pierced her flimsy armour. As she landed, bending her knees to absorb the shock, her right leg gave away under her weight and she collapsed.

The demon slowly advanced on the helpless elf, as if savouring every moment. He towered over her now, and, picking up the axe his counterpart had dropped, looked down upon her. "Embrace the scourge," ordered the beast in a solely evil voice that could not possibly be produced by any elvish voice. The beast then proceeded to raise the axe above his head. With all his might the demon forced the axe down but, as the axe came arcing down above the elf, she quickly rolled out the way. The axe hit the ground with force enough to fell a mighty Kodo beast, but not fast enough to catch the nimble night elf.

Ignoring her pain, she slashed at the back of the beast with her blade. The beast turned on his foot and lashed out with his arm. The elf skilfully dodged the attack, and countered his attack with another fell slash of her might burning blade. As the angry beast was facing her now, the blade sliced up though the demon's chest and finally his throat. As the blade exited the demon, the Elf ducked another frantic slash by the demon and jumped to the side as it fell to the floor clutching its throat.

The demon let out a pathetic hiss, followed by a sigh and finally went limp.

The elf stood, panting, in the middle of the room. She surveyed the scene and immediately realised that the demon that was reading from the book was missing. Instinctively, she turned on her heel and, limping, made for the corridor. Just as she was about to leave the room, she heard a groan from behind her. Remembering the night elf boy, she turned and looked at him.


	2. Chapter 2: Those Who Dare

**Then – 10 years previous…**

The night elf nimbly descended the ancient Wolfswood staircase. Had she been anything but an elf, the descent would have triggered a pandemonium of creeks that would have awoken her father, slumbering but a single floor above. The staircase was engulfed in a cool, yet forbidding darkness which now consumed the woodland dwelling. This darkness around the elf, however, was currently being forced back into the recesses of the house by a candle the girl held in front of her, slowly revealing the silent furnishings.

She knew she shouldn't be exploring the house like this, and she knew her little escapade, if discovered by her father, would result in severe punishment. But she didn't care. Compelled by the excitement and mystery, she crept off the last step and entered the circular living area, again her candle illuminated the room.

In the centre resided a large, ornate hard-wood table, it's surface shining a deep crimson in the candle's subtle light. Apart from this, the room was sparsely furnished; a few chairs around the table and two large book cases, which each fully occupied a wall. But this was not the room she was looking for.

With the guile of a fox she crossed the room, making sure she made not a sound. She passed the table, bathed in the light of her candle, and finally the bookcase, before walking through an arch into another, smaller room.

Even though this room was much smaller than the last, it was more densely furnished and with more ornate furniture. This was her father's private quarters and, even though she was not strictly forbidden to enter the room, she had a strong feeling she was. He had, however, strictly forbidden her to go near the large cabinet that resided in the corner of this room. Her target.

The day before, when her father was away at a druid council meeting, she had procured the key from her father's unguarded robes he had swapped for his ceremonial robes. For a long time she had lusted for this key, and for a long time she had observed how her father kept the key in a secret pocket on the inside of his formal robes, and how he forget to take it with him when he changed into his ceremonial robes every month.

As she approached the cabinet, thoughts of apprehension and anxiety consumed her. _I wonder what is in there? Is it magical? Dangerous? Maybe a family heirloom that is one day meant for me…_whatever it was that resided in the cabinet, she would soon rest her eyes upon it. Finally.

She now stood directly in front if the cabinet. Kneeling, she slowly placed her candle on the wooden floor, careful not to make a sound, and extracted the key. It twinkled momentarily in the candle light. Slowly, the nimble elf raised her naked arm with all the guile of her dexterous forefathers, and cautiously slipped the key into the hole. As she turned it, a dull click sounded from deep inside the ancient lock mechanism, and tension loosened from the cabinet door. Success.

The girl shuffled back one her kneel to allow the door to open, and them opened them.

Inside the cabinet were many different compartments, like hollow square prisms that reached all the way top the back of the cabinet. Some had small doors sealing them, and some were open. The doors were not locked. Inside some of the wider, open slots lay miscellaneous scrolls, no doubt divination enchantments, spell components, pouches, and other items a druid master would possess. But these were not anything to be hidden from his daughter; she used items like these in her divination lessons.

After scrutinising all of the open compartments, the elf was disheartened to find that there was nothing of any significance to her investigation. Feeling defeated, the elf replaced all of the items that she had taken from the cabinet, now surrounding her. She finally got to the last item, a small Grell skull, but couldn't remember which container it went in. she started reading over the labels: _Root Divination… no… Wind Enchantments… nope… hey, this one's black, _she thought to her self as she came across a slot who's label bore no writing. Out of curiosity, she opened the container…


End file.
